"We're handling some bigger life events in this season," he told the magazine. "We do deal with a death, which is certainly a topic that families have to deal with, and on television, it's not easy to do because that's a heavy subject. But at the same time, it would seem unusual for a family not to go through it."

Lloyd would not reveal who the character is, but he did say that the death would impact several episodes. The 10th season also marks the end of the show's multi-season contract, so future seasons remain uncertain. Co-creator Steven Levitan has previously talked about ending the show, but Lloyd expressed a different sentiment.

"There's goodwill on both sides to make it happen, but there's also complicated matters that have to get worked through, and there's a time constraint on it, because we can't have it take too long," he said. "I'm hoping that that doesn't make the whole thing go away, but I think there's a decent chance we'll see it happen."